I Spy

Diplomats turn to Google to break nuclear ring
By Damien McElroyLast Updated: 2:13am GMT 12/12/2006 

It has 16 intelligence agencies, spends untold billions on spying and uses the most sophiscated surveillance equipment available. Yet when American diplomats needed to identify Iranians to punish with financial sanctions for involvement in the country’s nuclear programme they used Google, the most popular website search engine. State Department diplomats were rebuffed by the CIA after requesting names of scientists and bureaucrats involved in Teheran’s clandestine quest to build a nuclear weapon. A junior State Department desk officer was then given the task of finding a set of names on the internet. The upshot is a draft United Nations resolution that proposes a travel ban and an asset freeze on 12 individuals, including the commander of the Revolution Guards, the feared state militia, and directors of several nuclear institutions. The resolution, now circulating in the Security Council corridors, is scheduled for adoption before the end of the year.

Daily Telegraph